Buying a house that has Solar installed

PThomas_2

Morning 
I am interested in a house that had PV Solar panels installed on the roof in 2014/15, they are owned outright and not rented. I have asked for more information on the FIT from the Estate Agents, also if they can find out how much was generated for the past couple of years.
I am trying to understand how FIT works and how I would maximize my income and minimize my electricity usage from the grid.
The property has no gas available and electric oil filled radiators on the walls (With digital controls), the hot water is a mix of a electric shower and immersion hot water tank.
Ignoring any potential for further insulation or upgrading windows (They are already double glazed), I am trying to get an understanding of the running costs before making an offer.
Does the energy generated from Solar just get a FIT rate based on total generation, or do you offset it somehow against what you use? For example heat the hot water during the day from just Solar with no grid elec required? I seem to recall there was a time when meters ran backwards if you were pushing back to the grid.
Thanks in advance for information and suggestions

[Deleted User]

Having recently sold a property with on roof PV Solar, the questions that you are posing are best left to your solicitor. I recall having to fill in a Law Society Questionnaire which required me to provide a copy of the MCS Certificate; details about the roof loading calculations; details of any warranties on the panels and inverter and confirmation of the FIT rate payable. I also had to provide confirmation of FIT registration and a signed FIT Transfer form.

The FIT scheme no longer exists for new entrants. FIT payments for older systems are based on the amount of electricity generated from the array (as measured by a separate export meter) and FIT rate that applied on the date of registration (adjusted each year for inflation). You should also get a small export payment based on 50% of the units generated. (NB; some FIT payers now pay only for the ACTUAL metered energy that you export).  These payments come from the supplier chosen at the time of registration and are independent of your chosen electricity supplier.

Meters that run backwards are illegal (you could be accused of stealing electricity). Installers were required to inform the supplier if this was happening. That said, not all suppliers were honest or reliable.

In sum, these are matters that you are paying your solicitor to deal with not the Estate Agent.

https://www.napthens.co.uk/update/dealing-sale-property-solar-panels/

[Deleted User]

PS:  I should have added that you also need a copy of The Electrical Installation Certificate completed after the array was installed. It shows that array is safe and fully registered with your local Council Building Control (self certification by the electrician)

Gerry1

Buy a different house !  Solar won't give you energy at times when it's most needed, i.e. cold and dark.

Using full price electricity is about the most expensive way to heat a house, so at best you'll have all the expense of installing a different system which still won't be nearly as cheap as gas.

tim_p

Sadly I think Gerry is right, buy a different house with gas. You can’t really maximise the FIT itself as it’s set at the time of registration. 

If it’s a ‘standard’ 4KW installation facing south then as a total ball park figure from that date (2014/2015) then you could be looking at around £600-£800 per year on the fit currently (based on mine and friends systems performance). The FIT does increase every year in April based on, I think, the previous Dec inflation rate.  As an example I got £677(3996 KWh) in 2015 and £777 (4131KWh) in 2019

A solar diverter if fitted will generally mean free hot water for most days between Mar/April and around Oct, depending on usage obviously. Maximising your usage of solar can become a bit of a hobby but after a while you’ll probably come to realise life’s too short!  My install from late 2014 has pretty much paid for itself but I’ve had more than my monies worth looking at the monitoring stats on a too regular basis.  Unless it’s really the perfect house then I’d look elsewhere cos those panels won’t save you anything like having GCH would. 

PThomas_2

I have not intentionally sought out a house with Solar, more a case of the house I am interested in has Solar already installed.
I appreciate its something a Solicitor would deal with on purchase, but this is all part of my decision making and affordability of  purchasing said property. So I really need to understand the figures before offering on it.
Lots of rural areas do not have mains gas available, this property does not have anywhere suitable for a gas tank or bottles, so electric heating seems to be the only option. It has thick stone walls, so some thermal mass, plus double glazed windows and thick loft insulation.
Interestingly, the Government seems to be incentivising electricity for heating and hot water, as my Parents found when they purchased a new apartment a couple of years ago. Gas is seen as a dirty fuel these days, like diesel cars.

Gerry1

Oil?  Seems to be as cheap as chips at the moment.

matelodave

The problem with solar generation is that it generates leccy almost inversely proportional to your requirements - lots in the summer when you don't need it a hardly any in the winter when you do. However that said, depending when the system was installed there were good FIT rates (originally for 25 years) which got slowly eroded away to nothing so over a long period of time they were a pretty good investment.
You get a payment for every kwh that you generate and even if you use it all it's assumed that you don't so you can sell 50% of what you generate back. You or your solicitor need to check out what agreements are in place to see how much you can get and for how long.
Electric heating is always going to be more expensive than gas or oil unless the government try to incentivise it (or de-incentivise gas). I've got a heatpump and it works for our place and lifestyle but it was quite expensive to install 10 years ago, but with the RHI (£5k over seven years) and lower energy costs it's virtually paid for it'self and I'm still getting the benefit of low energy bills.A heatpump is not for every one and TBH I'd go go mains gas if it ever became available where I live (which is very unlikely) but like in all things you have to do your homework and careful sums to see what is going to work for you.
Bear in mind, you haven't had the capital cost of installing the panels, so apart from any maintenance costs you will still get the benefit of any remaining FIT which depends on the size of the array and the FIT - consider it as a bonus, rather than a significant factor in your calculations but a free £500 or more a year for the next 12-15 years has to be worth thinking about.

greyteam1959

One thing that might be worth looking at is the actual rate of FIT payment at the moment.
A system installed 9 or 10 years ago should be giving a payment of around .5536 p /kw.
Would the payment carry on at this rate if the property changed hands I wonder ??
Or would the rate drop to the rate available on new solar PV installed now ??

tim_p

greyteam1959 said:

One thing that might be worth looking at is the actual rate of FIT payment at the moment.
A system installed 9 or 10 years ago should be giving a payment of around .5536 p /kw.
Would the payment carry on at this rate if the property changed hands I wonder ??
Or would the rate drop to the rate available on new solar PV installed now ??

It transfers to new owner at the same rate (so, your 55p / kWh)

silverwhistle

My install was in 2013 and I get just under 20p for the units I generate (including the assumed 50% export): over £60 a month. 2014 will be a slightly lesser rate, but this will be shown on the regular updates the DofE publishes.  I divert spare power to an immersion tank so have only used my gas twice since March, and once was because I thought I might as well to check the gas boiler. I also have a wood burner and my annual gas/electric bill is  around £200. Recently I bought an electric car and have also done some charging of that from the panels.

Remember you get the FIT for all you generate: the more you can also use yourself the better. So use washing machines and dishwashers when output is high, and even things like slow-cookers. I've even used an oil filled radiator to mop up spare power when the water tank has been hot, although that will lessen now I've got the car.

Nothing to be worried about in themselves, and for most of the year your bills will be low, but I'm not sure of your best options for heating in the depths of winter, which will be your main issue. I've got the back up of gas even if I haven't really needed it with the wood burner.